Belly Dance Off at Teatro ZinZanni, picturing Suzanna as host with live music by House of Tarab

Dear Community,

Thank you for your ongoing and vital support of this innovative production. In a world of changes and against so many odds, this event has not only sustained and persevered, but evolved beyond imagination! Since founding in 2010, BELLY DANCE OFF has held 23 events in 8 venues across 3 cities, with over 8 spotlights in local and international media. Each event has featured a different mix of dancers, musicians, and judges, with a relentless focus on theatrical quality, entertainment, and widespread audience engagement. I thank the incredible community for championing the spirit of this event and supporting these accomplishments! Through your many forms of participation – whether backstage or onstage, as a competitor, judge, sponsor, or more – you have kept the flame alive and strong.

It is now time to take the next step in our evolution. Our years of touring throughout different venues have been an incredible opportunity to hone event management skills and expand ties across communities. Yet experiencing this show in Teatro ZinZanni Seattle in 2016, we’ve witnessed the core vision truly come life – as if it were made for the place! Thus, Teatro ZinZanni will be the new home of BELLY DANCE OFF in 2017!!!

In addition, there are a number of changes to the format. Since 2010, BELLY DANCE OFF has been held 4-5 times each year – 3-4 preliminary rounds plus a championship. Beginning in 2017, BELLY DANCE OFF will take place in 2 events per year – one Open round plus a Championship. The Belly Dance Off Open will take place on June 17th with six competitors. From this event, three dancers will advance to the Championship on October 21st, and compete for the trophy, title, and other prizes. With this consolidation, there are several notable format changes:

Fewer competitor spots. Throughout the past 6 years, up to 10 spots have been available in most of our preliminary rounds (5 Pros, 5 Rising Stars). With three preliminaries, that’s 30 available spots in a year. In 2016 this was reduced to 21 available spots – 7 each round (4 Pros, 3 Rising Stars). Now, with just one preliminary – the Belly Dance Off Open, there will be 6 available spots for the entire year. This will allow for an even more personalized and expanded professional development experience for participating dancers. These spots will be obtained through an application process which will be announced in January.

No categories. Belly Dance Off ran for the first two years as a simple “dance off” with no categories. Dancers enrolled and competed regardless of level and experience, which yielded some pretty exciting results. In response to a number of requests, in 2012 Belly Dance Off began segmenting into two categories – Rising Star and Pro. Now with just 6 competitor spots available each year, we roll back to no categories, yet a baseline level of experience will be required. Criteria will be announced with the application process in January.

No declared “winners” at the Open. Previously, winners determined at each of the 3-4 preliminary rounds would advance as finalists to the Championship. Now, with just one preliminary – the Belly Dance Off Open, three of the six competing dancers will advance to the Championship with no winner declared in the Open event. These three finalists will be determined by taking the top three total average scores using the same scoring methodology currently in place.

With these changes, the distinguishing values of BELLY DANCE OFF are nonetheless preserved – participating dancers can still grow and hone their talents in response to judge feedback between the events, we maintain focus on audience engagement, and we are still 100% live music! Consolidating to two events per year also means even greater focus on quality. Additional enhancements are on the horizon and exciting possibilities are in store! Thank you for growing with us. And more, thank you for supporting artistic innovation! We look forward to many phenomenal years ahead.